- Diangha Maria has resigned from Refereeing in Cameroon
- The native of Kom was a top level match official for close to a decade
- She will no longer be a part of the crop of Referees in Cameroon’s men and women’s top-flight championship from the start of next season
Goretti Nain Diangha Maria, a FIFA badged Referee between 2017 to 2023 has resigned from the vocation almost a year after she was controversially stripped off her international status.
Sources close to the one-time face of Women’s Football Referees have told kick442.com that the star handballer cum football official made the decision after due consideration with her family, and resolved to open a new chapter to mark an end to a difficult year.
Back track to August 2023 Diangha was shown first signs of being a wantaway in the core when she was granted permission to miss the FIFA test and catch up later because of her engagement in an international match. Despite having the permission of one of the commission members she was recalled to participate in the test on the eve of the event in Yaoundé, after which she had to travel for the FIFA world cup qualification match in Douala.
Despite the logistics challenges, the elite mentality lady traveled and reached the venue of the confirmation test minutes before it started and validated the test. Surprisingly, she was not retain for the badge when the final list was submitted to FIFA.
Her non-retention for the badge FIFA wasn’t communicated to her by the Cameroonian FIFA instructors or members of the commission till when the list of FIFA certified Referees from Cameroon as well as other member associations was published in January 2024.
As if stripping experienced Diangha of the badge wasn’t enough, she was denied game time – for instance, she participated in just one men’s league game, as a fourth official despite completing the test for it in time.
Her minutes in the Guinness Super League dried off despite stakeholders calling for greater use of experienced officials to cover for Refereeing lapses in the Women’s top-flight championship. Now, weeks before the 2024 session of the test for Elite Referees in the country, Diangha has tabled her resignation citing personal reasons.
Her departure from the core leaves a huge void for the next generation to fill at a time there’s huge scrutiny on Refereeing in Cameroon.
We understand Diangha, who is currently schooling at the Sports department in the University of Bamenda and is a state registered teacher will catch her breath for a while before contemplating a return to football in a different role.
Diangha Maria, the lady who became the first woman to officiate as an onfield Referee in the men’s top-flight championship in the professional league era in Cameroon in 2022 quits with her heads held high, despite the challenging moments in the twilight of her career.
During her era in the game, she participated in the Women’s CAF Champions League I. Equatorial Guinea, Aicha Buhari tournament in Nigeria, took part in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches and Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) qualifying matches alongside national championship games.
She will be remembered as one of the firmed women the Northwest Region offered Cameroon Football for close to a decade.
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